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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

My name is Lily and I live in New Zealand. I'm the proud owner of two bunnies, a spayed girl called Ruby and a 3 months old flemish giant named Jasper. I'm very new to this bunny business so I'll be making lots of posts asking for help.

Ruby actually came to me through my friend who didnt want her anymore, until then I'd never even thought about getting pet rabbits. About 5 months ago my friend went to the SPCA to get a friend for her boy, she came home with Ruby and put Ruby straight into the hutch with her boy, no introductions, nothing. Over the next few months there were alot of fights and Ruby became very aggressive towards the boy as well as people. Then the boy rabbit she had died and her mum got her two baby minilops and Ruby was kicked out of her hutch and was living on the deck. By then Ruby was out of control and was attacking everyone when they went near her and her family wanted her gone. Thats when I stepped in and said I'd look after her for a bit, my friend said she only needed me to take her until they moved house. But after they moved house I got told her mum wouldnt allow her to take Ruby back and that they were going to set her free. So now Ruby is free ranging(she has a hutch as well) on my deck and comes inside during the day to take naps under the dining room table.

I decided to get her a friend so I got my flemish giant. I followed all the online info for introducing rabbits but Ruby attacked him straight away and when I took him away she attacked his little bed. So now they're living seperately but I'm hoping to slowly introduce them with the help from this forum.

Thanks for reading my story. You'll be seeing alot of posts from me in the future as I have alot of problem that needs to be fixed!

Barbie

1584 posts

12/06/2009 5:13 PM

Welcome! Wow, Ruby has quite a history, and a sad one at that. I'm sure everyone here at BB can help you out!

btw... pictures please!

Charlie&Layla

32 posts

12/06/2009 5:18 PM

Welcome! This place is great for all the advice you need and want while learning about bunnies. All of us dedicated bunny slaves also know that learning about rabbits is a lifelong thing :-)
Thanks for rescuing Ruby. If she's a bit anti-social and aggresive she'll need a lot of love and patience from you, and you sound like you're doing a fantastic job.
There are excellent bonding resources online and on this forum, I used a bonding guide gievn to me by the wise forum leaders, written by the house rabbit society I think. *looks around for JG who always seems to know where to find stuff*

jerseygirlAustralia

15045 posts

12/06/2009 7:17 PM

Welcome! I replied in your other thread but it's great to hear more about you and your bunnies. Thanks for stepping in for Ruby and being patient with her. Also, for what you are doing to assist your friend regarding spaying information. You sound like a good advocate for rabbits! Looking forward to hearing more of Ruby and Jasper. Now don't go and disappear - flemish owners seem to disappear off the forums and we can't get enough of flemmies! What breed is Ruby by the way?

Whoever says "It's only a rabbit" has obviously never loved a rabbit.

BBSan Francisco Area

Forum Leader

8690 posts

12/08/2009 6:50 PM

Welcome! How wonderful of you to take her in your home. Poor Ruby - no wonder she's feisty!

I always seem to have a soft spot for feisty harder to handle bunnies. Rucy (RIP) was a feisty gal who settled down with love and patience. Jack terrified volunteers and scared the heck out of my husband when we first adopted him, but Jack actually turned around very quickly (within a few weeks) with positive behaviorial training (I think he lashed out more because he was scared, not that he was territorial or bossy.) And Vivian, who I adopted this year, scared many volunteers too (from what I was told). She can be territorial and a bit bossy if something is in her way, but she is very very loving too.

I bet with lots of love and patience, you'll find that Ruby will settle down a bit. She could have learned that being territorial kept her safe and so she may rely on that behavior even with your new Flemish boy. So you may have to help her feel safe and settled before you introduce them.

I look forward to seeing your posts in rest of the forum (bonding, behavior, etc) so we can help you with whatever you need.

In the meantime -- Welcome!!! and we love pictures of bunnies here! (hint hint)

Beka27Cleveland, Ohio (USA)

Forum Leader

15873 posts

12/12/2009 4:54 AM

Welcome!

Meadow.....
...... Max, my angel bunny

Lillika

23 posts

12/17/2009 12:14 PM

Thanks for the welcome guys. Just thought I'd add pics of my bunnies.

Ruby

Jasper

MonkeybunHillsboro, Oregon

10491 posts

12/17/2009 12:54 PM

Oh my gosh! *snuggle snuggle* I am jealous of Ruby, having that flemmie boy all to herself...

MirBearKitchener, Ont. Ca.

1418 posts

12/17/2009 1:48 PM

heey, i have a soft spot for misunderstood animals ruby probably just wants her space... i know i had a bunny that was like that.. poor kisses had been shut in a cage all her life when i rescued her.. she was extreamly agressive but through alot of tough slavery to hershe calmed down a little bit.. the best way to introduce b=unnies for the first time.. that i found worked the best.. is to have something in between them such as have their cages side by side all the time but both in seperate cages.. then after about a month once they settle down are are formillier with each other put them in a netral area.. probably somewhere in the house neither had beeen befor.. bathrooms work great with the tiles.. bunnies can have acedent and its easyer to clean up plus with the slippery tiles bunnies cant move very fast so they'll be more catious. it also help because their paying attention to where they walk and less to the other rabbit... if they pay more attention to the other rabbit then to the tiles they will probably start slipping , a little scare never hurt anyone but it does help to make them friends. try 5 minute sesions and then if they go well in about another month try longer sesions.. eventually they should be able to be in the same play area.. remimber dont put males and females in the same cages that wil cause aggresssion between them but you can keep their cages side by side.. female bunnies are very territorial

My Siamese Sweethearts, Hershey & Twix........... <3
And In My Attempted Un-selfish Thoughts I Find Myself Thinking... If This Is The Best I Can Do With Just My Thoughts, Than What Is The Best That Can Be Done By Someone Who Has Not Only my Thoughts But The Chance To Make Them A Reality?

MirBearKitchener, Ont. Ca.

1418 posts

12/17/2009 1:50 PM

they are beautiful by the way love jaspars colouring and ruby's buterfly pattern

My Siamese Sweethearts, Hershey & Twix........... <3
And In My Attempted Un-selfish Thoughts I Find Myself Thinking... If This Is The Best I Can Do With Just My Thoughts, Than What Is The Best That Can Be Done By Someone Who Has Not Only my Thoughts But The Chance To Make Them A Reality?

PetzyNorthern AB Canada

Forum Leader

5938 posts

12/17/2009 2:57 PM

Your rabbits are supercute! I really love the buff color of the Flemish... but Ruby's ears... so adorable! Feel free to post more pictures...

"what happened?
did something happen or can I just go back to my hay?"

Lillika

23 posts

12/17/2009 3:38 PM

Thanks for that. I've built a gate with holes so they can see each other and I've covered it with chicken wire so they cant hurt each other, so my deck is divided into two now, I thinking of having Ruby on one side and Jasper on the other side and have them get used to each other for a month and then maybe swap them over so they can get used to each others smell and then maybe introduce them in a neutral territory. Does that sound okay?

Lillika

23 posts

12/17/2009 4:20 PM

This is gonna sound silly but I just realised this is a house rabbit forum as in all the bunnies are kept inside, I was confused cos I first found a rabbit association thats in New Zealand but they're all breeders and only talk about breeding and then when I typed in pet rabbit forums this is what I got. To make it clear to everyone I live in the north island of New Zealand where its always very temperate weather and we never get snow or frost, all you need is a sweater in winter. At the moment Jasper is an indoor bunny but when he's full grown I want to move him out on to a sheltered deck where Ruby is currently living. They will not really be full time out door bunnies but really coming inside during the day and spending the evenings cuddling on the couch with us and then out on the deck while we sleep or when we go out. They both have a hutch on the deck for them to go into or just free range in their areas. I hope this is okay and I will still be welcome on this forum. I'd love to have two full time indoor bunnies but at the moment I just dont have the space for their pens since Ruby's quite large and Jasper will be huge and I really like them having the space to run even while I'm away.

Beka27Cleveland, Ohio (USA)

Forum Leader

15873 posts

12/18/2009 3:43 AM

They are so cute!

Meadow.....
...... Max, my angel bunny

jerseygirlAustralia

15045 posts

12/19/2009 7:36 PM

They're precious! Look at him lying there in the pot plant!!! I also have a hard time believing Ruby has aggression issues. She appears sooo sweet. I guess appearances really are deceiving. She's a love anyhow.

Whoever says "It's only a rabbit" has obviously never loved a rabbit.

HediDayton, OH

976 posts

12/24/2009 6:04 PM

Of course you are still welcome Lilika! Dont beat yourself up. Everyone here is very nice and we wont torture you over keeping your buns on the deck. But..I do have a few questions...you mention they have houses/hutches to go into on the porch and also areas around that as well. Do you mean they have free range area ON the deck that they can choose to go in/out of their hutches? If so is that entire area covered? One of our big issues w/ rabbits outside is predators. Rabbits can easily be picked up by hawks, tortured by wild animals that are outside, etc. Rabbits can be scared to death-literally. It just takes one animal coming up to their house trying to get them and a rabbit will just plop over dead. Is there hutches completely enclosed on the top to protect from predators and is there enough room inside the hutch so that if an animal came to the front area (or whatever area your buns come out of) they could get away and hide inside?

These are the things that worry us. Also the weather issue that doesnt sound like an issue in New Zealand. A great place to look about outside issues is the House Rabbit Society. Their website is www.rabbit.org. Just search using "outside" and a host of articles come up for you to view. I know the topic frequently comes up on here as well so you could search the forums here as well for help.

Dont feel guilty or worry about asking questions on here. We were all new at one point and even those of us who have had rabbits for years definitely do not know everything.